The Struggle

What do you blog about when the struggle seems so big?  I could go into the struggle.  I could complain.  I could vent.  But largely, the struggle is actually with myself and I'm kind of tired of talking about myself.  I know there is One much greater with a picture much more glorious than I can imagine.  How can I get a better glimpse of His perspective?

Maybe a good idea would be to focus on the One who struggled, but never faced defeat.  The One who, when he anticipated the climax of His purpose on earth cried tears of blood, begging for another way, but submitted to the will of His Father.  This man, made my brother, my friend, my Lord, and my Savior.  Tempted in every way, yet without sin stood in my place and gives me the honor of being in His.  How great the Father's love for us!

The struggle continues, but we have the victory.  We fight the battle with Him and He gives us the power.  He gave us the Holy Spirit. I'm at my wits end with myself.  I can't live the way He calls me to.  I can't love the way He tells me to in His Word.  But the Holy Spirit can.  Now that I could submit to this Spirit within me, that His fruit will increase and I would decrease.  Praise God that He will complete this work within me!

"For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." Romans 7:15-25

 "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6


"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are" 1 John 3: 1a


"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21